


Crushes and Curses

by WanderingBandurria



Series: Quarantine & Other Variations [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Magic, Attempt at Humor, But it's a quarantine, But it's very light, Coping, Crushes, F/M, First War with Voldemort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Getting Together, Houseswap, Light Angst, M/M, Mild Language, Mild Smut, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Quarantine, Ravenclaw Remus Lupin, Remus Lupin & Lily Evans Potter Friendship, Sharing a Bed, Unrequited Crush, so angst happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:08:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23488081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WanderingBandurria/pseuds/WanderingBandurria
Summary: Sirius is at James’s and Lily’s home when an alert of the Ministry is sent, locking them in the house. They can’t get out. They can’t perform magic. And even more, in the house is also Remus Lupin, the elusive Ravenclaw Prefect that is Lily’s friend and who Sirius has vaguely noted is cute as hell since sixth year.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Series: Quarantine & Other Variations [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1900750
Comments: 37
Kudos: 299





	Crushes and Curses

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So I wrote this to help me cope with the social distancing. I hope it might help some of you in these hard times. Please be careful with your media consumption, especially if you are not doing okay. You are the best judge of yourself, so please listen to your body and heart.
> 
> I tried to make this lighthearted and focusing on the nice side of being forced to live together in a pretty much ideal scenario, but it still deals with the uncertainty of these type of situations and some stress responses. It doesn't explore the psychological part of quarantine in dept and it's more of a get-together fic than anything, but please, please take care of yourself and respect your own limits. 
> 
> English is not my first language and this fic isn't betaed (I still checked it thousand of times to try to avoid any big error, but of course, I'm blind to some of my own problems!), so please, if you spot any mistake - spelling, grammar, use of verb tenses, or anything else - please, please let me know in the comments so I can correct it. Just be gentle and you'll have my gratitude forever! I love to learn and I write because the characters make me happy, because I enjoy creating stories, and because it's a great way to improve my English, so please let me know what do you think about it.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, and please review if you can, it would mean the world to me.

\---

“Mate, where are you?” Sirius yells as soon as he gets into James’ and Lily’s house, where they moved two months ago after school ended. 

“Kitchen, wanker!” 

“What are you baking, Prongs?” he asks as he enters the kitchen, the smell making his mouth water.

“Some brownies; Lily’s recipe. We have company.”

“Aw, you didn’t need to worry about me, darling, I’m barely a guest! I think I’m here more than Lily.”

James gives him an exasperated look.

“Not for you, Padfoot. Lily’s friend is here, Lupin, the Ravenclaw Prefect. Remember him?”

Oh, Sirius _remembers,_ for sure _._ At the beginning of sixth year, Sirius started noticing Lupin, and a lot of _noticing_ he did. Lupin was very gentle and a bit quiet, but Evans had told him that he had a secret streak for mischief and an amazing sense of humour. Sirius had heard him a couple of times making sarcastic comments, and they were quite remarkable, loaded with a good amount of subtlety that was perfect for humiliating Slytherins, even when he rarely used this ability. He kept to himself in classes, taking notes diligently, and was sick quite often. He didn’t seem to have many friends in his house, so Sirius thought it would be easy to befriend him. He was sorely mistaken. Every time he tried to catch Lupin’s attention with a well-aimed prank or a comment that he thought was funny enough to engage the other boy, he just smiled and ignored Sirius - very politely, of course. Sirius even tried to talk directly to him a couple of times when James wasn’t around (he didn’t want to answer why he wanted so vehemently to befriend Lupin, because he didn’t have an answer), but Lupin always managed to run away with an excuse. This puzzled Sirius for quite some time, but he didn’t have any idea that explained why this boy was the only person in Hogwarts without interest in Sirius Black’s existence. He kept trying during sixth year with no avail, not sure why he did it. Not that he was _that_ interested in Lupin, but there was something about him. Maybe his eyes, or maybe what Lily had told him, but it pulled at Sirius like a magnet, even when Remus didn’t seem to intend to keep him in his orbit. 

In seventh year Sirius laid back a bit, more focused on his future and without time to chase a friendship - yep, that was what he wanted, of course - with a boy that apparently was immune to Sirius’ charm. Ironically, it was at the end of seventh year that Lupin seemed to change his mind and started talking to Sirius from time to time. He always did it when James wasn’t around, running into Sirius in the library, the grounds, empty classrooms, and dark corners in lonely corridors; even in the kitchens. This explained why James didn’t know about them being sort of _acquaintances_ , for lack of a better word. 

Lupin was, without a doubt, the weirdest Prefect in the history of Hogwarts, even worse than James, who had improved his game after being named Headboy with Lily. In the last months of seventh year, when he ran into Sirius an infinite amount of times after curfew, he never took points or made him go back to his common room. He just stood there and talked with him with a small smile on his lips. Sirius felt quite happy during that period: he thought that he was finally on the path of befriending the Ravenclaw.

And then the N.E.W.T.s came and the year ended, and Sirius’ only hope to see Lupin was with Lily, who was his best friend. 

“Oh, yeah, we actually talked from time to time in the last months of school. Nice bloke.” Somehow, he manages to sound nonchalant, not a hint of nervousness in his voice. _Good job, Padfoot!_ he tells himself; the dog inside of him wagging its tail.

James is about to say something when a red envelope gets into the kitchen, slipping under a window. _Strange_ , Sirius thinks just before feeling a heavy impact of magic all around himself that make his teeth grind together. 

“The hell?” mutters James.

The envelope bursts open and a loud voice starts talking.

“This is an official message from the Ministry of Magic. A curse that was used to attack a Hogwarts student last December it's being investigated. This curse blocks magic in the long term, and it extends to anyone that receives any form of magic from a cursed person, becoming carriers themselves that can pass it over to others. This can have dire consequences for the whole British Wizarding society since there’s no known cure, although the Ministry is working diligently in one. All former students of Hogwarts are to remain locked where they are right now, without exception, and are forbidden to perform magic until further notice. Magical wards have been put in place in the building you are right now to make sure that you stay in this location and that no magic is performed in it. 

You are to remain in quarantine for a fortnight, but this period might be extended. The Ministry will make sure to send supplies so you don’t have to go out to get them. Be sure to look for any of the indications that you were hit by the curse, which include the appearance of purple freckles on the back, heavy headaches and losing the capacity to feel the warmth of a wand, although remember that you are not to perform any magic - with or without a wand.

Please gather every person in this household and make sure they get this information. Everyone needs to remain within the house and wait together for further information that will be sent in a short time.”

A heavy silence falls in the kitchen.

“Fucking Voldemort. Already messing our lives and it hasn’t even been six months since we left Hogwarts” James rants.

Sirius starts laughing maniacally.

“So, I gather you two received the letter too?” Lily says bemusedly from the kitchen's door, shaking the red envelope in her hand that, Sirius now realizes, has the Ministry official seal.

And _oh,_ behind her is Lupin with an expression that betrays that he is holding back his own laughter. He acknowledges Sirius’ presence with a nod. Sirius is still laughing, tears of panic threatening to fall from his eyes.

“Nasty business, isn’t it? That curse sounds quite serious. I’m sorry for imposing myself at your home for the next two weeks, James. I wish I had come yesterday so I wouldn’t bother you three here...”

“Oh, nonsense, Remus. You were unwell, so there was no point of you coming over. And I’m glad that I don’t have to spend all this time with these two…” Lily interrupts, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Even more, I think it’s good for you too that you are here; better than being alone at your home, I hope. I know it’s not the best scenario, but…”

James’ shrill scream stops her. 

“Shite, Padfoot, check my back!” he is already taking his shirt off. “What if I have the curse? Should I go lock myself in the bathroom? should I send a Patronus to the Ministry? I’m going to do it, tell them to isolate me right now -”

“You are alright, James,” says Lily, taking him by the cheeks, squeezing his face with her palms. “Stop panicking, love. We can’t use magic, so you can’t send a Patronus. We just need to wait for the Ministry instructions. I’m sure that if they told us to wait together it was because it is safe, as long as we don’t do any magic.”

“Nothing in your back, mate, except for some disgusting pimples. Regular, white ones, not a hint of purple in your greasy back” Sirius adds quickly before James can get more alarmed.

“Besides,” Remus’ measured, almost professionally calm voice takes Sirius by surprise, a wave of arousal that he can’t quite explain hitting him. _Healer fantasy, really Black?_ he chastises himself. “I bet the cursed student is Ed Edgecombe - he is a Ravenclaw kid that was in third year last term. He was taken to St. Mungo’s at the beginning of March after his wand exploded in his face; never returned to school. He had been a bit odd since December, after some nasty business in the Hogsmeade's visit that he didn’t want to talk about. So there’s a fat chance that any of us were on the other end of Ed’s wand between December and March, and I highly doubt he even used magic in that period, aside from classes, because he was really scared. They might have to take some measures with third years, but I don’t think it got to any of us. I’m guessing the Ministry is just taking extra measures given the current political climate.”

James relaxes visibly. Lily frowns.

“If that’s the case, that’s horrible. I mean, a third-year child hit with such a serious curse…” 

A new envelope gets into the room at that moment. Lily takes it and reads.

“It says that we are being kept here as a precaution and that the traditional version of this curse is only passed by performing a charm or spell directly aimed to someone else, but as they don’t know if some variations were made, we shouldn’t perform any magic at all. It doesn’t give more information on the curse. It says that this parchment,” she raises a second scroll that is blank, “has a Protean Charm, so anything we write on it, the Ministry’s officer in charge of our case will be able to read it. So if someone” she looks at James for a split of a second “develops symptoms, we are to write them. They ask us to sign this letter, each one with our hand, so they can verify where everyone is. It also says that during the afternoon they’ll send some food and some muggle cooking books over the Floo.” She snickers after Remus starts laughing at that. “Sorry, sorry. It says that we should remain calm and they’ll let us know if there’s any new development.”

“Oh, can you imagine all those pureblood snobs that don’t want to know anything about Muggles being forced to make their own food _without_ magic? ‘What, you just put it _over_ the fire, Lucrezia?’ ‘how am _I_ supposed to know that, Jacob?’” Remus says, shocking Sirius with a perfect imitation of two of his former housemates, known for their pride on their blood status.

“Oh my God, I would give so much money to see that!” laughs Lily.

Sirius is laughing too when an idea strikes him.

“Wait, does this mean that I’m supposed to use these clothes for two weeks, without magic to clean them?” 

It is James’ turn to burst into laughter.

\---

The answer that the Ministry gives them is that they’ll send some robes with the food, but when the garments arrive, they are awfully small and unflattering. Growling, Sirius goes through all of James’ clothes to find a couple of shirts and some pants that fit him; no hope for trousers. Lily says that they’ll have to do handwashes during this period since they don’t have a Muggle washing machine - they intended to use charms for that. So Sirius guesses he’ll just do his laundry in his underwear and wait for his jeans to dry. Remus has more luck since the robes fit him, but even then, a chirpy Lily drags him to her and James’ room to see if some of James’ trousers and her own old, loose shirts are his size. They emerge two hours later, Lily laughing, and Remus grumbling while blushing.

“So, sleeping arrangements,” Lily says, taking a brownie from the tray that James and Sirius are wolfing down. “Remus can sleep with me in the master bedroom; we have slept together tons of times before, and I’m sure you two have too, so you can take the guest room. That way, we don’t force anyone to sleep on the couch.”

James frowns.

“Oh no, Lily, I can sleep on the couch, no problem. I don’t want to put any extra stress on you and James” says Remus quickly, flushing deeper. 

“No, you can’t. I know how bad is your knee after you’d been unwell, and you were not even a week ago,” she retorts before taking a big bite of brownie and cutting a slice for Remus.

“You two have slept together?” asks James, trying to sound like he doesn’t care about it, and failing miserably.

“Yeah, of course. I visited Remus at his parent’s house every summer since fifth year,” Lily says, clearly ignoring James stupid display of jealousy. “They didn’t have a guest room, so we shared the bed.”

“To sleep, James. Real sleep,” Remus adds quickly, a smirk in his face that only makes James deepen his frown. There is no trace of Remus’ former shyness in his demeanour. “We’ve always had a completely platonic friendship. You know men and women can be friends.” 

He pauses, seemingly weighing his next words, so Sirius takes the opportunity to meddle.

“Yeah mate, you are making yourself look like an arse. I’m quite close to Mckinnon, we’ve slept in the same bed countless times and we never fucked. Not even kissed.”

“Yeah, but she’s a lesbian!” James blurts.

“James!” Lily calls, making him gulp, realizing what he just said. “That has nothing to do with this conversation, which is, by the way, completely out of place. You can’t just tell other people’s business without their consent!” 

James looks to the floor, repentant. 

“If it helps,” Remus starts, softly and gentle, “I already knew, James. Not that it makes it okay that you blurted that out, but you didn’t just completely betray Marlene’s trust. And just so you know, I’m gay too. And I’m not saying this so you feel like ‘now it’s okay, as long as he’s queer’,” he looks at James in the eyes, proud and defiant. _How come he wasn’t in Gryffindor_ , Sirius asks himself; “I’m just telling you right now because, well, we are already on the subject, and since we are going to be here for the next 14 days, I need you to deal with it as soon as possible, so we can have a decent time together. And don’t worry, I still think that having you and Lily sleeping in different beds for two weeks is a bad idea, mainly because you’ll need to talk on your own from time to time, and I don’t want to have to make sure you are not there when I go to sleep.” A spark of mischievousness glints in his eyes and James relaxes visibly. “I’ll take the couch, it’s not a problem. I’ve slept in much worse conditions.”

“This doesn’t excuse your little jealousy display, James,” Lily warns immediately. “And you are _not_ sleeping on the couch, Remus. If you are so stubborn that you don’t want to sleep with me, Padfoot will take it.”

“Hey!”

“I’m sorry Remus. I’m sorry too, Lily. Of course, I have no problem with you being gay, Remus, there’s nothing to deal with. I’m sorry my shit made you think I would mind” says James, ashamed.

“If I may say something,” Sirius starts, giving Lily a dirty look. “I don’t mind sharing the guest room with Remus. We’ll be here for quite some time and I think it’s better if we get used to sleeping together from the beginning, because I love you guys, but the couch is _shite_ and I don’t think anyone deserves to sleep here, not even for a night. Not even Prongs as a punishment for being a prat.”

Lily looks thoughtful, her eyes fixed in Lupin. James just looks like a child full of sorrow.

“Yeah, that works. I don’t mind sleeping with Black either.”

\---

When Sirius gets out of the bathroom and into the guest bedroom, Remus is already there, reading a book in Lily’s old and stretched Pink Floyd long-sleeved shirt. He looks up for a second when the door closes and goes a bit pink when he sees Sirius, who, for his part, is too awestruck by _Lupin in Muggle clothes - not in a school uniform, not with robes, just Muggle clothes -_ to process this new information. He gets in the bed, feeling a bit too hot, but he still tucks the bedcovers over his chest.

Remus turns off the light and mutters “night”, so Sirius answers “good night.” His head is in overdrive, no chance to sleep tonight, even when he is exhausted by the emotional rollercoaster that the news of being trapped with his best friends and _Remus Lupin_ meant.

“So, do you have a boyfriend?” Sirius blurts out in the dark and wants to smash his head to the wall immediately for being so unsubtle.

Remus stays quiet just a second, and Sirius is about to say “I’m so sorry, didn’t mean to pry!” when he answers in a soft, raspy voice.

“Not right now, no. I was with someone for a long time, but we broke up last October. He was in seventh when we were in fifth when we started dating, so it was a long relationship. I used to sneak up to Hogsmeade most weekends so we could meet, but with time, it wasn’t the same. I didn't feel the same. I think we both needed something different.” Lupin pauses, and Sirius can hear his own breathing, fast and shallow. “What about you?” Remus sounds hesitant, but Sirius is not sure if it’s real or just his own yearning that is making things up. “Do you have someone?”

“Nah,” Sirius laughs a bit, self-deprecatingly. “Haven’t dated in a long time.” He pauses, realizing that he hasn’t much dated at all in his life. “I’ve only had one proper girlfriend, Mary, at the end of fourth year. I usually do casual relationships but haven’t been out and about recently either. Maybe it’s time for me to try something different too, you know?” he shrugs, feeling the bed shake with him, and cringes at what he just said. _Bad dog_ , he tells himself, _very bad dog_ , _trying to flirt in the most unsubtle way with a man with whom you have to share a bed for 12 more nights_.

Remus laughs softly and rolls on the bed to face Sirius. Sirius turns his head to look at him too, his heart threatening to get out of his chest. He can see Lupin’s eyes in the dark, shining brightly. He can see him half smiling and hears him swallow hard.

“Yeah. Yeah, it can be good to try new things.” They look at each other intently. Sirius feels hot and heavy and _what the hell is going on, Lupin is here, I just need to shift a bit more and I can be all over him and…_

“Good night, Sirius,” Remus whispers, tucks the blanket over his shoulder and closes his eyes, not even turning away.

Sirius looks back to the ceiling. 

“Good night, Remus.”

\---

Remus wakes up with Sirius grunting softly at his side. He gets out of the bed quietly to avoid waking him up, his eyes fixed on the other man.

_Was last night real? was Sirius Black flirting with him in bed, implying that he’ll try something new, that might involve Remus, or a man, or a relationship, or something like that?_ He cuts the train of thought. It doesn’t matter, they have to stay at the Potter’s-and-Evan’s household for some time, so some shameless, harmless flirting can be done, but nothing else, for the sake of everyone’s sanity.

_Easy to think, harder to get the body on board_ , he thinks bitterly, commanding his morning wood to desist. He gives a last look to the man with whom he slept with, and with a long, suffering sigh, leaves the room, thinking defeatedly of bunnies - bunnies with their families. Baby bunnies and their parents. Mom and Dad. _Ugh, that takes care of it_ , he sighs, getting into James’ and Lily’s kitchen.

His hosts are already there, Lily gently guiding James in the process of heating the beans. They call “good morning” with bright smiles that Remus returns. They finish the breakfast quickly, putting the food on the table before James excuses himself and he and Lily are left alone.

“So, how was sharing a bed with Padfoot?”

Remus just groans, lets his head fall in his hands and sighs.

“Fine, Lily. Thank you for your _concern_ ” he answers, defeated.

\---

They manage to spend five days with relative calm and sanity. Remus has been reading Lily’s books, doing crosswords, and learning how to sew properly, so he can fix all his old shirts when he gets back home. Lily has been teaching Sirius and James how to survive without magic - cleaning, cooking, doing the laundry, using the telly and playing some Muggle games. A lot of time is spent on these household activities. Of course, James and Sirius still find time to do ridiculous things, like rearrange the living room and pretend it’s a spaceship, make obstacles courses that they invite Lily and Remus to run too, make costumes with James’ old school uniform, and redecorate the house three times already: first, with a western theme, making ugly drawings offering rewards for catching made up villains (a lot of them look awfully similar to Severus Snape), then with everything pink they found, and finally with Halloween decorations. 

They are constantly asking the Ministry officer to send them cardboard, paper, and Muggle magazines so they can keep their projects going. Remus is not sure when the Ministry officer is finally going to lose their patience and send them coal instead and tell them to use the parchment only for food and basic things; but in the meantime, Remus is happy for their help, because at least James and Sirius are not bored, which means, in return, that they are not driving Lily and Remus crazy.

Nights have been alright. Sirius has changed the course of conversation to Muggle costumes and _did you know about motorbikes, Lupin?_ , and harasses him with questions about his life growing up with a Muggle mom, which Remus answers gladly. 

There has been a couple of dangerous situations for Remus, though, because he usually sleeps alone, so he tends to use all the space. Sirius is, apparently, also used to sleeping alone, so they have already woken up so close, that Sirius’ breath tickled Remus’ chin. Remus has had a couple of wet dreams too, waking up in the middle of the night quite sure that he was moaning and pushing his hips against the covers, his own hands trailing dangerously close to his pyjama bottoms. Every time, Sirius appears to be in deep sleep when Remus’ gets up to take care of himself in the bathroom, and Remus is grateful for that. He doesn’t even care if he is pretending. He just hopes that he hasn’t called Sirius’ name in the middle of one of those dreams.

Sirius flirts all the time when they are alone - he waggles his eyebrows ridiculously when they run into each other after turning a corner, and even grabbed him by the hand and spun and dipped him on his arms when they were trapped in a game of ‘no, you go first’ out of the kitchen. Sometimes Sirius takes a break from following Lily around the house or their crafts-and-arts projects with James, giving the happy couple some alone time, and goes to sit with Remus in the sofa, asking him about his book, taking it out of his hands and reading it aloud for a while, or choosing a magazine or a book to read by his side. In the third day, he rests his head in Remus’ thigh while braiding his hair - _the couch is too small Lupin, and I don’t want to go to the bedroom, too hot in there -_. He even falls asleep in the position, and Remus manages to relax and keep reading after a while, barely registering when James and Lily enter the room to watch some telly. 

Remus flushes sometimes, but he can generally cope with the flirting, giving back as good as he can - save from the time he ran into Sirius doing his laundry in James’ pants; in that occasion, all he could do was look at his torso, blush, and stutter half an apology. Sirius smiled cheekily to him and started saying something, but Remus was already escaping to hide in the kitchen, the rest of his dignity left behind. 

In retaliation, he has made a few crude jokes in the table, making James choke with his food. Sirius doesn’t choke, but his eyes go dark and he doesn’t say anything for a while; any fast, ridiculous response dying in his throat that bobs up and down. Lily laughs and laughs, used to Remus’ sense of humour, but sometimes gives Sirius a curious look.

The sixth day Sirius and James decide to mount a runway show, so Lily and Remus are summoned to be the judges. Of course, neither of them fit in Lily’s heels and they don’t have the magic to fix that, so they’ve crafted really dangerous “shoes” with cans of peas and corn, like Muggle kids. 

They are laughing at Sirius second outfit - after James’ tablecloth sundress, Sirius’ BDSM tribute with every leather garment he found in the house (that Remus can’t lie, aroused him a bit), and James’ McGonagall’s imitation, Sirius came as a plug. They had been guessing for about 5 minutes before Sirius lost his patience and started humping the wall, aiming for the electric socket. 

Remus is still drying his tears of mirth, Sirius and James still laughing too, when Lily goes still at his side. Remus turns to her, feeling cold washing over him at her horrified expression. In her hands is an open letter, the red envelope in her legs.

“Lily, what’s wrong?” James is kneeling in front of her in no time, taking her hands. 

“There’s someone dead because of the curse” Lily manages to say, swallowing the lump on her throat, her voice trembling. “It doesn’t say who the person was, but apparently was someone who was infected recently and didn’t tell the Ministry that they were having some of the signs. They didn’t stop trying to cast their magic after losing it, and that gave them some type of overload and…” she stops, sobbing.

“Shit. Come with me, Lily. We are going to the kitchen to have some tea.” Remus is surprised by Sirius’ commanding tone when he takes Lily’s hand, getting her on her feet. James just nods and stands up, pale as paper. Remus shifts nervously in the spot, not sure what to do. He takes the letter, and James immediately sits by his side, looming over his shoulder to read too. He starts shaking after a while, his elbows coming to rest on his knees, his head falling on his hands, the heels pressing his eyes.

“James, what’s going on?” Remus squeezes his shoulder.

“What if I really have it, Remus? I know what you said, but the letter says that some people can transmit the curse without knowing that they have it until much later. I come and go to my parents’ house, I help my Mum with some healing spells for her joints, and not even two weeks ago, I dyed my Dad’s hair orange. What if I passed it to Lily? fuck, Remus, this is so fucking terrifying, I think I might go crazy trying to trace in my mind all the people I have casted spells on in the last ten months, and who did it on me. Every fucking night I do it, and I can't stop myself. And even worse, all of this is happening in the middle of this fucking war. The Ministry might say it's not a war, but we know better.” He drops the volume of his voice, so they can’t be heard from the kitchen. “It’s no coincidence, you know? What if they are using this curse to isolate us at home, keep us away from our wands? what would happen if You-Know-Who’s followers were to attack now? Not only there would be fewer people to help Muggles, but they can also corner us in the houses we are, like fucking mice in a fucking trap, Rem.” He spits the words. “That’s what we are right now, aren’t we?”

Remus tries to breathe in and unknot his chest, without success. So he does the only thing he can think of.

He takes James by the shoulders and hugs him. James collapses, strong arms encasing Remus’ shoulders, his whole body trembling.

\---

“Okay, we are partying tonight” Lily yells from the kitchen, the clicking of bottles almost drowning her voice. 

James laughs, the colour finally back on his face.

“How are we supposed to party, love? we can’t go out!”

“Bollocks, Jamie, we don’t need to go out to party and you know it!” says Sirius delighted, appearing in the living room, carrying Lily’s cassettes and some Christmas’ decorations that the Potter’s had already gifted James and Lily. “Here Lupin, put these on the walls for me, would you?”

“Yeah, James, don’t be a wet blanket, and come here, someone has to make some snacks so we don’t end the night puking all over the house when we don’t have magic to clean that up.”

“That’s the love of my life, mates, always thinking ahead” James laughs, walking into the kitchen.

Remus tries to be subtle while watching Sirius, who is selecting the music, but he is caught immediately. He blushes a bit.

“How’s Lily?” he asks softly.

“Better. She decided that we can’t do much right now, except try to make the most of this and, quote, ‘make Remus party like a Gryffindor for once, godammit!’”

Remus laughs.

“Oh, don’t worry, this Ravenclaw knows how to party. I was almost put in Gryffindor for a reason, you know?”

“Well, that actually makes a lot of sense. Still, don’t be too confident, you _Prefect_. We are not your regular Gryffindor, we are the _finest_ our house have had in quite some time.” Sirius pauses, taking a few cassettes out and putting them by the radio. He looks like he’s deciding on the music, and Remus thinks that they might have hit a conversation dead end when he blurts, “so, are you gonna tell me why you didn’t end up with us, sharing our dormitory? Just imagine, you, me, Potter and _Pettigrew_ ” he winces dramatically at the name of his former roommate.

A jolt of excitement and sadness goes through his spine at the idea of _sharing a dormitory_ _with Black for_ _seven_ _years_. 

“Oh, you know, regular stuff: not being stupid enough to want to be surrounded by time bombs that can explode at any minute was a critical factor that the sorting hat took into account.” He grins, ducking just in time to avoid the cushion that Sirius throws at him. “Now will you stop procrastinating and come and help me with the tinsel, please?”

He is relieved when Sirius jogs to his side and starts talking about their last party at Hogwarts. He couldn’t give Sirius the truth and say _well, I was going to be in Gryffindor, but then the Sorting Hat decided to put me in Ravenclaw because they have private dormitories that you can get when you are the best in your year, so survival comes before personality, I guess,_ couldn’t he, right?

\---

They drink. They dance ( _a lot_ ; Lily and Sirius love to dance, and James and Remus are dragged in the process). They _joust_ , for fuck’s sake, Lily on Sirius’ shoulders, and Remus manages to convince a very tipsy James to jump on his back, even when James is much taller. They build a fort and collapse it by wrestling (Remus was the ultimate winner of the wrestling championship, receiving a toilet paper crown). They act some scenes from fucking _Grease_ , after Lily tells Remus and Sirius the whole plot in _full_ detail, James enthusiastically adding stuff from time to time that Lily has to correct immediately. 

They are back to drinking now, Lily splayed on the floor, her head resting on James’ thigh. 

“So, when are the two of you going to snog?” she asks, giggling.

“Lily!” Remus yelps, almost dropping his glass.

“Oh, yeah! Sirius has had this big crush on you since sixth year, Remus, did you know? He thinks that I don’t know, but, _pfft_ , there’s nothing that scapes my amazing observation skills. Do you know that I knew that Lily’s favourite colour was blue _before_ she told me? the gift, I’m telling you, of a _true seer_. You should let me read your teacup, Remus. Maybe I can tell you when Sirius will finally go and try to suck your face…”

“Okay, that’s enough Prongs. If anyone is going to suck faces any time soon, is you and that evil girl on the floor. And by the way, you could be more subtle at night, you know? we can hear you all across the house.” Sirius tries to change the topic bravely, even when he is flushing.

James and Lily laugh, happily and shameless.

“Boooo,” Lily seems to remember that she has a mission, so she bolts upright fast. “No, that’s no news, I suck James’ face every day. Don’t take me wrong, it’s quite an amazing experience…”

“Quite an amazing experience kissing you too, Lily!” James yells, grabbing her face and starting a sloppy kiss.

Remus laughs, not really sure what else he can do with all of this. Sirius is shifting nervously by his side.

“Eck, go to your room, you two!” Sirius almost chokes with his drink when he sees Lily’s hand trailing by James’ leg.

“Okay, okay, sorry! only after you two kiss” Lily insists.

“Yeah, kiss, kiss!” James chants.

Well, alcohol is supposed to be helpful in this kind of situations, isn’t it? _Liquid courage,_ he thinks. Remus turns to Sirius.

“You know better than me that they can be quite stubborn when they get an idea in their heads. Do you care if…?” Remus approaches Sirius, feeling dizzy, although he’s not sure if it’s because of the whiskey or Sirius’ proximity.

“What? No, not at all! are you sure…?” Sirius’ eyes get darker, and he shifts closer to Remus too.

Before he loses his nerve, Remus shortens the distance, crushing his mouth with Sirius’ quite painfully. They giggle, and Sirius grabs his nape to make him tilt his head. Their eyes connect for a second, and then they are properly kissing. 

He can bearly hear Lily’s cheers; they are a soft echo in the background. He pushes forward, his hands supporting his weight at the sides of Sirius’ hips, and for a second he thinks that Sirius is going to fall back with him on top, but he manages to stay up, helping himself with one hand that roots itself to the floor, the other still on Remus’ nape. 

He loses track of time quickly, Sirius tongue circling his own, his body pushing and pulling, their lips chasing each other every time they take some distance to change the angle. He nibbles at Sirius’ bottom lip for a second, hearing his breath hitch, and then Sirius is pushing him, his hand that was supporting his weight grabbing Remus’ shoulders to push _hard_. 

Remus lets himself fall back on some cushions, opening his eyes to look at Sirius looming over him, his eyes deep, and _sex_ written all over his face. Remus feels himself throb in anticipation. He extends his hands and grabs Sirius’ face, pulling him in a new kiss, tongues lacing slowly, hot and heavy. 

Sirius leans over him, his arms supporting most of his weight though. Remus shifts, hoping that Sirius would drop his body already. Instead, Sirius pushes up, still close to Remus, but not longer at kissing distance. He looks to his side.

“Well, I think that was enough for them,” Sirius whispers hoarsely. He turns back, smiling at Remus, who realizes that Sirius is talking about James and Lily, who are no longer in the living room.

“Mh,” comes smartly out of his mouth.

Sirius gets up slowly and extends his hand to help Remus. 

“Maybe we should go to sleep too,” Sirius says, walking in the direction of the room, and Remus can't identify the tone, but apparently Sirius thinks it was somewhat loaded, because he giggles, nervously, and adds, “not the way _they_ are sleeping! I mean proper sleeping, each in our side of the bed, and then maybe talk about this tomorrow when we sober up. What do you think about that?”

Well, it would be a lie to say that Remus isn’t a bit disappointed and definitely horny, but the sober part of him knows that what Sirius is proposing is the right course of action.

“Yeah, sure” he manages, cringing when his voice comes out as a breathy whimper.

Sirius stops on the spot, Remus almost crushing with his back. He bolts fast, eyes ablaze.

“Okay, no, that’s not fair.” He hears Sirius mutter before he is pulled into the bedroom and pushed against the door, where he stays happily for God knows how long, kissing and pushing against Sirius, his hands travelling from his hair to his waist under his shirt.

He starts to regain his senses after a while, and pushes Sirius away softly.

“We are too drunk. We have to share a room for seven more nights. So we are going to sleep now and talk tomorrow as you said, alright?” He manages to sound somewhat convinced, even though all he wants to do is push Sirius’ hands from his back into his pants, and ask him if he would go down on his knees, _please_.

Sirius swallows hard, closes his eyes, and nods. Remus manages to untangle himself from Sirius’ hands, whisper “good night,” and run to the bathroom before he can change his mind.

\---

The next day, Sirius wakes up feeling cotton-mouthed and disoriented. Automatically, he fumbles on the night table for his wand.

“That’s not a good idea. We are not supposed to do magic, remember?”

He grunts.

“What about a hangover potion?”

Remus laughs softly at his side.

“Out of bounds too, I’m afraid.”

Sirius moans sadly.

“How come you don’t sound destroyed?”

Remus stays quiet for a beat.

“Well, it’s actually because I’m a werewolf. I heal much faster than other people. Mainly because I’m not properly _people_ ” he laughs, bitterly. 

Sirius is a bit shocked, he can’t deny it. He is tempted to take it as a joke, but as he is beginning to know how to read Remus’ tones, he realizes that he is telling the truth. He turns slowly.

“Oh. I didn’t know that about werewolves” is what comes out of his mouth. _Way to go, Padfoot_ , he admonishes himself, _really supportive._ His head is starting to clear up and he can form proper thoughts now.

Remus looks at him blankly before a smile lightens his face.

“Yeah, it’s not like textbooks talk about werewolves in any other way than being monsters, so there’s not much space for the perks of being one. It’s alright, I would give the healing and strength in no time in exchange for not turning into a beast once a month.” Remus switches to a much more shy demeanour. “So, are you okay with it? Lily told me that you and James would be okay, but…” he sighs, sad, “there’s been plenty of people who I thought would be okay with it that weren’t.”

Sirius extends his hand and touches Remus’ wrist that is in front of his face.

“James and I are Animagi. _Illegal_ Animagi, of course. ‘Prongs’ and ‘Padfoot’ are our nicknames not because of our Patronus charm, as we told everyone, but because he turns into a deer and I turn into a dog. We did it to try to help Marls. Her father is in a curse-induced sleep after he tried to steal an old pirate treasure in sacred indigenous land in an island in South America. We started researching some forms of magic that we thought might help him. Long story short, we realized that the only way to gather some ingredients for a potion that sounded promising was with a very accurate sense of smell and some instincts to track as only animals have, and we needed to be able to use both of them for long periods. So we decided to become Animagi. In the end, the potion didn’t work,” he adds, defeated, “but here we are, a dog and a deer. So, there. Now you know a secret that can take us down too.”

Remus’ eyes shine, full of emotion. He laughs faintly.

“Woah, okay, didn’t expect that. It’s brilliant. Not quite the same type of secret as mine, since it can’t make someone try to kill you and then be excused because they were trying to get rid of a _dangerous creature_. But thank you for trusting me with that.” He smiles softly.

“Even more importantly, Remus, I don’t care that you are a werewolf,” Sirius adds quicky, realizing he hasn’t said anything about it. “You are an amazing person. That you happen to turn into a beast once a month doesn’t change who you are the rest of the time. And I bet Padfoot would love to meet the wolf, if you ever feel like it.”

Remus laughs again.

“I’m not sure about you seeing me as a wolf, even if you are a dog. But thank you for the offering. And thank you for, well, being okay with it.”

They look at each other for some more time, each in their pillows, comfortable and relaxed.

“So, does this mean that I get to snog you again sometime soon? Maybe after we brush our teeth and eat something greasy so we can feel a bit better?”

Remus snickers.

“Well, given that you have a _big crush_ on me since sixth year, I think I can give you the benefit of the doubt and think about it. I’ll let you know soon, Padfoot _.”_

Sirius opens his mouth, feeling something like panic in his veins that mixes with the excitement of hearing Remus using his nickname for the first time. He knows it’s a joke, and yet he still feels nervous. Remus bites his lip softly, looking directly at Sirius’ mouth.

“Oh, you cheeky bastard.”

And forgetting about his hangover, Sirius rolls over Remus, kisses him softly on the nose and nuzzles against his neck. Remus smiles softly, and Sirius feels his stomach go into freefall. _I can get used to this_ , he founds himself thinking.

“Mh,” Remus pretends to ponder. “I’ve thought about it, and I think it’s okay for us to snog some more if we both want it. And since I have a crush on you since fourth year, I think that means we both want it,” he says with a huge grin, although he’s a bit flushed and some shyness is sneaking behind his playful stance.

“Fourth year? Woah, so why did you run away from me during all sixth year?”

Remus shifts under him, his hands going to his waist where he pets him softly. Remus sinks his nose in Sirius’ neck and says softly “well, I was with Gid and you were, by all signs, straight. I thought you might be curious, but I wasn’t going to let my hopes up for someone who might not _really_ want me back.”

Sirius sighs and pushes down, slothing their hips to make sure that Remus can feel his hard-on, and kisses Remus’ neck, biting softly. Remus moans under him.

“Mh, well, at least is pretty clear now that I want you, isn’t it?”

Remus laughs and digs his nails in Sirius’ back.

“Oh, you bastard.”

\---

They are in a delightful but precarious equilibrium for the next few days. James and Lily act like they don’t remember them kissing, but with the days passing by, they start to get more restless and throw pointed looks at Remus and Sirius, especially when they are together on the living room. There’s less to do now, and Lily is snappish sometimes. Remus starts going to the bedroom to read, delighted that the days are a bit colder. James and Sirius try to distract themselves, they do, but they end up fighting over who cheated in poker more often every day, so Sirius starts seeking refugee in the house chores, and James starts working out inside the house like a maniac. 

The four of them still have fun, and some days are great. They redecorate the house with cardboard figures of Muggle pop stars they have drawn (an idea suggested by Lily) and they enact hilarious fights between them. The collection quickly adds some historical wizards by Remus’ instance, and then Quidditch players that allow James to show plays and recreate famous games. Sirius is the last one to propose to add something, and opts for animals and characters from kids stories - Muggles and Wizards -, so by the end of the tenth day, the house is full of figurines of different sizes, some beautiful and others quite horrifying.

Most nights the four of them manage to leave the stress out and have a nice dinner together, and then play a Muggle game or drink and recall funny anecdotes from school. Sometimes the conversation turns more gloomy, and they talk about the future, the war, and their place in it.

Things progress smoothly with Remus, Sirius thinks. They talk about their childhoods, and Sirius manages to tell him about how he escaped from Grimmauld place in fifth year. Remus tells him about his dad dying at the beginning of last year and how he was bitten as a kid. They laugh with silly anecdotes, especially now that he can talk about his misadventures as Padfoot, and Sirius finds himself thinking more and more about the future. When Remus tells him of his work as a private tutor for wizarding families, Sirius can’t stop himself from picturing Remus arriving at his flat in the afternoons, tired and happy, and sitting down to have dinner with Sirius, telling him all about his day. 

The sexual chemistry between them is great, so they spend a lot of time exploring each other’s bodies. They haven’t talked about what’s going to happen when they get out of this confinement, but it’s somewhat implicit that they still have time to figure it out, so Sirius kisses Remus for hours, undressing him slowly, exploring his well-hidden scars and touching him everywhere. Remus sucks him off slowly, driving Sirius to the limit of insanity, making him beg before adding his hand to jerk him off on tandem so that Sirius comes in his mouth. 

The next night, Sirius gets into the shower after Remus and tries to return the favour, almost drowning with the water and making Remus get into a fit of laughter. When he calms down, he makes Sirius get up and face the wall while supporting himself with his forearms, and starts jerking him off slowly, while he puts soap all over Sirius’ legs and bum. He starts pushing his cock between Sirius’ thighs with soft and controlled movements that are accompanied by some beautiful moans and sighs. Sirius thinks, with Remus forehead between his shoulder blades, Remus cock hard and hot between his legs, one of his hands bruising his hip and the other gaining speed on Sirius’ cock, that this is probably the most erotic situation he’s been in, and he shudders to think that there’s still so much more they can do; that if they want, they can do _this, any of this,_ another thousand times. 

Remus’ moan is muffled against his back, but Sirius can feel his cock twitching, getting harder, his thrusts going faster, and then his cum between his legs. He can’t stop himself from screaming hoarsely when his orgasm hits him, the water grounding him after it. He doesn’t even care if James or Lily heard them; he just hopes that if one of them did, they are not obnoxious about it tomorrow.

\---

The next morning, Sirius is doing the laundry in his underwear when Lily bursts in.

“Okay, so I don’t want to do this, and I bet you don’t want either, Black, but we need to talk about boundaries, first, and about you _not hurting my friend_ , second.”

Sirius frowns.

“Lily… Okay, I’m sorry if we were too noisy and used all the warm water. I’ll try to behave better, so all right about boundaries, although you bursting in here when I’m almost naked might put a point against you too, Evans. About not hurting Remus, I don’t intend to, so don’t worry. I hope you are making James have the same talk with him right now, eh?”

“Oh, shush. I don’t care what you ‘intend’, I care what you are doing. Does he know you haven’t had a serious relationship since Mary? Have you told him that this is casual? I need you to be clear with him, Sirius. Please don’t toy with him.”

Sirius sighs. Of course, he knows where this is coming from, but he still feels a bit hurt. 

“Lily, I know you are a great friend, but you are overstepping here. We are figuring things out. What we have is quite new, and I want to see where things go. So if you need to know, we have talked about some of that stuff, but not everything, because there are some things that I don’t think neither of us knows where we stand.”

Lily frowns and nods.

“Okay, Padfoot, I’ll lay off. By the way, you have a big bruise in your hip. Might want to cover that up with a shirt, because James is coming in any minute and I don’t want him having a stroke when he figures out that you and Remus have been hooking up without him knowing. Without you telling him _every detail_ , it’s what I meant. He doesn’t remember you two kissing the other night, poor thing, always depending in Hangover potions.” 

Sirius grins from ear to ear and wiggles his eyebrows.

“I bet you my shift making dinner tonight for yours making the bathrooms tomorrow that he’ll believe if a tell him that it’s because of our training yesterday, and that he'll feel so guilty, that he will stop bothering us about exercising.”

\---

They receive the clearance to leave the house after the fourteen days; the Ministry claiming that they have control over the curse. In the wireless, though, Becca Davies says that unofficial sources indicate that there are at least 20 people in St. Mungo’s, three new deaths, and no safe place in England.

They talk about the mixed information but decide to go with the Ministry for now, at least so that Sirius and Remus can get clothes and arrange what to do with their works. The four of them decide to meet again in three days to assess the situation and talk about eventually locking themselves up again. If so, they are doing it together. Even when they had some small fights, they have a good dynamic, with Lily’s and Remus’ knowledge in Muggle stuff, and James’ and Sirius’ endless energy and willingness to learn Muggle things. Remus told James about his lycanthropy a few days before the end of the quarantine, and since James’ and Lily’s house has a cellar that they can reinforce with magic, he can stay with them even if they have to spend the full locked down. Sirius has been trying to convince Remus to let him and James join him during the full in their animal forms, but Remus isn’t sure yet.

The day when they can leave finally arrives. They are standing by the door when Sirius kisses Remus in front of James and Lily and whispers to him that he’ll send an owl later with his address so they can meet in the night. Remus nods, a small smile on his lips. James and Lily look really happy - maybe they are happy because they are leaving, or because they can finally get out of the house for some hours, or it might be because their friends are sorting their shit together. Maybe is a mix of all three. 

They each hug James and Lily, and with a deep breath, they grab their wands, look at each other in the eyes, and pop out of time and space. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Please review if you can :)
> 
> If you need to reach out, you can leave a comment or go look for me at [Tumblr](https://wanderingbandurria.tumblr.com/). I'm happy to chat with new people from around the world.
> 
> Oh and I wanted to acknowledge that the idea of Remus being sorted into Ravenclaw because of single dormitories was inspired in [this amazing fic called Half Agony, Half Hope](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14163171/chapters/32645256), by Barry_Manilows_Wardrobe that has a perfect Slytherin!Remus. Go check it if you haven't read it!


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